“I’m starting to get the hang of some of the differences between things here in Ireland and the United Kingdom, both domestically and in the world of work. One of the most important points of variation that concerns academic life is the school system students go through before going to University …” (more)

“Irish teenagers’ performance in maths saw no significant change between 2012 and 2015, a report evaluating the impact of Project Maths says. It states Project Maths has had ‘a small positive impact’ on student performance as measured by international studies but that there are ‘clear challenges’ in teaching, learning and assessment …” (more)

“At the second attempt I returned to Jo Boaler’s book Mathematical Mindsets. I really wanted to get an insight into what she is proposing because I have no doubt that the curriculum designers are planning to incorporate Boaler’s ideas into what will be Ireland’s revised primary school curriculum …” (more)

“Children’s progress in maths at the age of nine has a major influence through to Junior Certificate preparations and suggests a need to overhaul how it is taught at primary level, a leading education researcher says …” (more)

“Aspiring primary teachers with high points will be angry over how the new grading system affects their eligibility for entry to their dream courses. An anomaly in the maths requirement for entry to their chosen profession could dash the hopes of Leaving Cert candidates who have achieved at the highest level …” (more)

“Five years ago, Project Maths was rolled out to secondary schools around the country. Around the same time, students were offered the incentive of 25 bonus CAO points if they sat the higher-level paper. Thousands responded to the incentive; this year, a record 36% of Leaving Cert candidates took the more challenging paper, up from 20% in 2011 …” (more)

“A review of the controversial Project Maths curriculum is to examine how it affects student performance on third-level courses with a high maths content. There is already some evidence to suggest the revised curriculum has seen students less prepared than previously for the maths elements of college studies in science and technology …” (more)

“The demand for employees in STEM careers (science, technology, engineering and math) is particularly high, as corporations compete to attract skilled professionals in the international market. What is known as ‘curriculum intensification’ is often used around the world to attract more university entrants – and particularly more women – to these subjects; that is to say, students have on average more mandatory math courses at a higher level …” (more)

“About one in three Leaving Cert students has applied to sit higher-level maths this year, many lured by the prospect of earning 25 CAO bonus points. Interest among sixth years in the ‘honours’ paper is similar to what it was at the same stage in 2016 and 2015, suggesting that uptake is stabilising …” (more)

“It doesn’t take long for the new and the strange to become the norm. Once the phrase ‘Project Maths’ was so controversial it spawned many newspaper articles and media discussions, with strong views being expressed both in favour and against the new maths syllabuses and exams …” (more)

“Whenever I chat to colleagues from physics or maths we tend to end up sharing our experiences and frustrations about teaching quantitative subjects to college students. Everyone, in all third level institutions, is exasperated …” (more)

“Science is very good at spinning off new technologies that make life easier and make us more efficient. However, such technologies often have unforeseen negative consequences. Two such examples are electronic calculators and predictive text …” (more)

“The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has described the findings of the PISA 2015 study as an endorsement of the high quality work of Irish teachers and students at a time of hugely damaging cuts to education. In all three areas which were examined, the scores of Irish students were significantly above the OECD average …” (more)

“TIMSS (Trends in International Maths and Science Study) doesn’t roll off the tongue quite like PISA but it is important nonetheless. The results from the 2015 tests have just been released and the Irish Report is available here. For a small country on the periphery of Europe, we are doing quite well …” (more)

“Science, technology, engineering and maths are critically important areas for modern society. Expertise in these so-called Stem subjects is vital to supporting future economic growth. The quality of our education in these subjects, then, needs to be of the highest quality …” (more)

“As far as I can make out, the STEM report arose out of a belief that: Students entering college lack basic STEM skills, especially in mathematics (True); Even college students lack ‘higher order’ skills like problem solving, analytical thinking etc. (Only partly true) …” (more)

“Serious concerns over the basic skills of students in maths have emerged in a major review of so-called Stem subjects taught in Irish schools. The quality of graduates in so-called Stem subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths – is considered crucial to the country’s economic future …” (more)

UCD’s student to staff ratio hits 23:1(19 February) - "Figures released in the latest Higher Education Authority (HEA) report has highlighted a national trend that the ratio of students to staff in Irish...